Your Why empowers your What

Happy Friday, 12th Mile Runners,

Let’s put ourselves in a time-out. ;o)  

Right Now…. wherever you are… whenever you are reading this…. let’s play for a moment in the world of our imagination! 

Imagine that we, this new 12th Mile email community, are all gathered in a wooded log cabin. The lighting is soft, and a fire gently blazes from a stone hearth, making the Great Room where we have come together feel cozy. Beautifully upholstered chairs and couches add a relaxed touch to our space. End tables and sofa tables are tastefully arranged to enhance our room, where an “exhale” feels possible. Large picture windows offer a stunning view of autumn reds, yellows, and oranges across the landscape outside. Finally, a long banquet-style table, decorated with fall themes, invites us to enjoy coffee, hot chocolate, and warm apple cider. Bagels, muffins, and fruit attractively complete the table. 

And then… we begin to enjoy our conversations together.

We are pastors, bankers, and business people.  We are swimmers, musicians, writers, and retirees. Some of us work from home. We are caregivers, athletic trainers, and truck drivers. We are nutritionists, mechanics, and teachers. Some are coaches, hairstylists, and runners. One of us is a founder of a nonprofit ministry, intentionally reminding the world that each of us matters. There are military personnel, medical providers, editors, and therapists. Each of you helps shift our world toward the better. God smiles; I am sure.

But today, in all of what we do that keeps us incredibly busy, I want to ask: Why do we do it? Over a lifetime, what we do changes—often, quite a bit! However, I now believe that the God-given why of our lives is almost a constant. Our why empowers everything we do! In my case, I started my career as a math teacher, but I have done many other things throughout my life that have nothing to do with math. I suspect this will remain true until I head to heaven. My why has never changed—not really. The why God built into me has been about encouraging people to embrace hard stuff. (algebra? ;o) ) It has been an honor to witness their joy when they succeed and have a victory over something hard… maybe really hard… even perhaps… harder still! When they don’t succeed, their growth in perspective because of their setback has been equally a privilege to see!

Michael Jr. is well-known as a stand-up comedian, author, and actor. He has an incredibly moving—funny, too—YouTube clip on this very what-why consideration. It has been around for about 8 years now, and I still am not weary of seeing it. The link is provided below.  It lasts about 4 minutes.  I encourage you to spend the 4 minutes and enjoy!

May you be blessed as you consider the unique why to which God has called you in your life… You are His masterpiece!   (Philippians 3:12-14)

I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God Who is sending a love letter to the world.     

Mother Teresa

With love,

Louise Ann